Adventures of a Soap Maker

A few weeks ago, one of my market customers was carrying around a mason jar of green “stuff”.   I asked what in the world was in it and he commenced to tell me all of the great green and nutritious produce that was in the drink.  I didn’t give it any further thought.

Then Becky posted a link on the Lakeland Dowtown Farmer’s Curb Market Facebook page that had a recipe for a really delicious sounding green drink.  I had to try it!  And it had to have my own twist to it.

Well, I went to the grocery store this week to pick up my greens.  And by now you have heard of the big Powerball winner…well that is my grocery stop.  The parking lot was a chaotic mess with way too many tents and way too many TV cameras!  So, if Zephyrhills Water didn’t put us on the map the mysterious BIG BUCKS winner certainly did.

Back to the reason for my post.  I spent several minutes in the produce section, carefully selecting different greens and ended up with kale (which is not a favorite of mine), spinach (which is… I’m strong to the finish cuz I eats me spinach), and parsley.  To sweeten the deal, I also picked up fuji apples, bananas, and topped it off with majoul dates.   If you have never tried majoul dates, they really should go on your bucket list.

At home, I divided up all of the greens and sweets and put them in quart size freezer bags so I could pull them out and toss them in my Vitamix (thank you QVC).  The first batch has proven to be quite abundant, so I can get 2 or 3 drinks out of one bag.  Oh, and about 8 oz of orange juice really helped to make for a perfect drink.

So now I can get my daily requirements of fruits and veggies in an instant.  If you haven’t tried a  homemade green drink, I highly recommend it.  No preservatives or other ingredients you cannot pronounce!

A few months ago…well, maybe several months ago, I decided to reduce my soap oils to a consistent blend.  I was tired of the slimy feel (my opinion) of olive oil and wanted something that would have the same qualities but without the feel of olive oil soaps.  Viola!  High Oleic Sunflower oil.

So what does that mean?  High oleic sunflower oil is very high in monounsaturated acid. High oleic sunflower oil contains the benefits of vitamins A, B, D and E, is rich in minerals, lecithin and contains omega 9 fatty acids.  Sounds pretty good to me!

My Castile Soap lovers shouldn’t despair.  I will continue to make my Castile and Bastille soaps, as well as my Buttermilk Honey Castile soap.

But let me get back to my formulation of oils and butter for future soaps.

Basic soap is made from what soapmakers call the trinity.  Olive Oil (or substitute), coconut oil, and castor oil.

What differentiates handmade soaps from one another is the quality of the oils, butters, and liquids used to create either an economical bar of soap or a luxurious skin loving bar of soap.

In the majority of my soaps, I will be using skin loving Shea butter and high oleic Sunflower oil; along with coconut oil, organic palm kernel oil, castor oil, avocado oil, and almond oil or grape seed oil.

Shea Butter is considered a precious additive and is beneficial for just about any skin type.  Shea Butter has been used for centuries in Africa to keep the skin hydrated. Shea Butter is rich in Vitamins A, E, and F; in addition to other vitamins and minerals.  And, because it*s filled with antioxidants, Shea butter not only lubricates and softens your skin, but also keeps it looking radiant.

Sunflower oil comes in three varieties, NuSun, linoleic and high oleic. Sunflower oil is very conditioning, and retains moisture. It is also high in essential fatty acids. The high oleic sunflower oil contains several benefits, such as vitamins A, B, D and E; and is rich in minerals, lecithin and contains omega 9 fatty acids. Sunflower seed oil penetrates, quickly, without leaving an oily residue.

Coconut Oil produces a hard bar of soap that is cleansing and has a beautiful full lather.  Coconut oil is great for dry itchy skin when used as a moderate percentage of soap.

Organic Palm Kernel oil creates a harder bar of soap with rich bubble lather.  Palm oil production grew dramatically when tropical oils began to be used as bio-fuels. New plantations  caused widespread habitat destruction. In particular was the slaughter of Orangutans in their natural habitat threatening their survival.  The concern over the environmental damage resulted in the creation of a group of people who formed the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm oil.  Therefore, any Palm or Palm Kernel Oil used in my soaps is sustainable and organic.

Castor Oil acts as a humectant by drawing moisture from the air. And, it is easily absorbed by the skin making it a great skin softener and conditioner.

Avocado Oil has excellent penetrating qualities making it ideal as a massage oil. Avocado oil hydrates while having a low chance of clogging skin pores.

Sweet Almond Oil is used frequently by massage therapy practitioners for its ability to penetrate quickly into the skin.  Sweet Almond oil contains Vitamins A, B, D & E and is rich in fatty acids & proteins. And is often used to soften dry and irritated skin. (Care should be taken if you have allergies to any type of nut oil.)

Grape seed oil  is high in Vitamins, Minerals and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and penetrates easily into the skin.

So this is my formulation for future soaps.  I think you will really enjoy these luxurious soaps!

Almost forgot why I posted today.  I will be eliminating the inventory of soaps that are not made with my new formula (with the exception of beer soaps).  If you are one of my Lakeland Downtown Farmer’s Curb Market (say that 3 times real fast) customers; they will be available as a “Today’s Special”.  Remaining bars after the market will be on sale at my on-line store after Saturday’s market.

I love to cut new soap just to see how all of the swirls inside turn out. Today I cut this year’s Valentine’s Day soap that has a fabulous sweet and juicy strawberry fragrance.

The bubble factor is a WOW! And I decided to use Mango butter in lieu of Shea butter in this one to keep the fruity theme going.

I have seven perfect bars and the beauty of this being my 2013 Valentine’s Day soap…the design reminds me of swirly hearts.

I was browsing my yahoo email account when I came across an article in the Ina Steiner newsletter. Sadly, the USPS will be raising postal rates effective January 27, 2013.  Hint: Stock up on the Forever Stamps before then!

But Forever Stamps won’t help when I need to ship soap.  So here is the breakdown of the new postal rates:

1^st Class
Letters (1 oz.) — 1-cent increase to 46 cents
Letters additional ounces — unchanged at 20 cents

New domestic retail pricing for Priority Mail Flat Rate products include:

• Small box — $5.80 (up from $5.35) + $.45
• Medium box — $12.35 ( up from $11.35) + $1.00
• Large box — $16.85 (up from $15.45) + $1.40
• Large APO/FPO box — $14.85 (up from $13.45) + $1.40
• Regular envelope — $5.60 (up from $5.15) + $.45
• Legal envelope — $5.75 (up from $5.30) + $.45
• Padded envelope — $5.95 (up from $5.30) + $.65

Saturday was a rough day at the market with Sandy blowing her way up the east coast.  Although we are located mid-way, yet closer to the west coast, the winds were still gusting up to 30mph at times.

It was a relief to be torn down and safely home.  But the biggest wind came when I opened my mailbox and saw a package from Las Vegas.  I was like a little kid at Christmas.  I gently opened the package, still standing at the mailbox, and saw a beautifully packaged bar of handmade soap.  I was blown over to find it, and to find out it was lovingly sent by, of all things, a person who had purchased handmade soap from me on two occasions.

So I decided to do a soap critique.  Here goes….

Packaging was exquisite and gift giving ready.  Beautifully secured with curled white and purple ribbons.  I weighed the soap on my scales and it tipped in at over 5 oz.

The aroma of the herbal essence lavender came through in abundance.  There was no skimping that’s for sure!

Appearance was also beautiful (I’m getting the feel this was all around beautiful).  Mostly natural with an accent of lavender coloring to top off the peaks with nice small particles of ground oats and lavender.

Now on to the bubble factor.  Bubbles formed almost immediately upon contact with the water.  The bubbles were creamy and tight in texture and didn’t disappear when I stopped rubbing the bar.  Rinsed clean and left that squeaky feel on my hands.  And the aroma was definitely there.

Included was an approximately 8″ x 8″ knit wash cloth with three hearts
knitted diagonally. 

So Virginia, if you have a website or Etsy shop, please let me know in a comment below, so I can include it in this post.

And a big, huge thank you for sharing your, as Billy Crystal would say, “marvelous” bar of soap.

PS…. I like your packaging style so much, I may have to use it for selling Christmas soaps at the market.  Hope you don’t mind!

~Love and Light~
Sharon, The Soap Magician

I was so excited to see the familiar brown truck yesterday pull up and honk the horn. But that excitement was short lived. As the carrier was pulling the box off the truck, I could see the box had been taped up with a lot of white tape.

Now mind you I adore my UPS carrier and even more so, when he pointed out that the box appeared to have some kind of spots on the top. I told him the box contained all of my new oils for my new soaps. After he heard that he turned the box sideways and there were not only spots on the top… the bottom had leaked profusely. Again, I adore my UPS carrier. He said, “You need to refuse this shipment and they never should have put it on the truck to begin with!”

He was so helpful and told me what I needed to do. So my Thursday delivery has now turned into a following Tuesday delivery.

The excitement is mounting! Now I get a delivery from two of my suppliers on the same day. Yeah!!!!

Look for new soaps starting in September 2012. They will weigh more, have even better oils, and quite a few of the oils will be organic. I will be switching to organic non GMO soybean oil, organic palm kernel oil, and organic sustainable palm oil. I was assured by my supplier that the palm oil is certified organic and that their supplier is active in protecting the habitats of wildlife and endangered species. And this makes me happy!

Yesterday, a fellow soap maker and Facebook friend did a rant (her words) about the use of essential oils on pets.

I had to agree with her that there are a lot of people, including vets, recommending various essential oils, without full knowledge of the effects it can cause for pets, the elderly, and pregnant women.

Tea tree is one popular essential oil that a lot of people use; and a lot of companies include in their products.  BUT, tea tree should NEVER, LET ME REPEAT NEVER be used on our precious kitties.  It is toxic and will in time kill them!

I am a trained and certified aromatherapist.  I was first trained in 1998 by Jade Shutes who headed the Institute of Dynamic Aromatherapy and again in 2011 as a refresher course through The East-West School for Herbal and Aromatic Studies.  Again, headed by Jade Shutes.

OK, where am I going with this?  Back in November 2010, I posted a blog on one of my selling venues.  But I think it bears repeating here – again!

Before we get into the use of essential oils in our soaps, let’s have a little chit-chat about some of their uses and cautions.

There is a difference between essential oils and fragrance oils.

Essential oils are generally made from the distillation of the actual plant itself and are highly concentrated.  Some of these essential oils can be quite pricey due to the quantity of the plant and/or its parts needed to make the essential oil.  As an example, it takes approximately 60,000 rose petals to produce 1 ounce of pure rose essential oil.

The molecules of essential oils are so tiny that they have the ability to penetrate the surface of the skin and enter the bloodstream.

If you have allergies to certain plants, using the essential oil of the plant will produce the same allergic affects.

Fragrance oils on the other hand are copied and synthetically produced.  Some fragrance oils may or may not have any of the plant material as part of the process.  Fragrance oils are a good substitute for obtaining the aromatic results you may be looking to achieve without the high cost.  And when you consider that for the most part, the soap containing the fragrance oils sits on the skin for a short period of time, any of the benefits of the true essential oil goes down the drain with the beautiful bubbles.

The molecules of fragrance oils are not small enough to penetrate the surface of the skin and therefore they are unable to enter the bloodstream, with the exception of cuts or abrasions.

In regards to essential oils, there are certain precautions I do like to take.  And here is one of them.

Pregnancy: Although some aroma-therapists argue that a more diluted mixture of EO (essential oil) and carrier oil is safe; I tend to error on the side of caution, and advise against a few EOs if you are pregnant.  Especially in the first and second trimester.

The following list, includes, but is not limited to all of the herbs and essential oils that are classified as “EMMENAGOGUES” which are herbs that promote menstruation, usually causing it to occur either earlier or with increased menstrual flow when it is scanty.  This means it can cause the fetus to abort in the early stages of pregnancy.  You should also avoid the following herbs if you are considering pregnancy.  This caution should also apply to large quantities of the herbs itself.  When in doubt, consult your physician.

I have listed both the common name as well as the Latin name, as all herbs are not created equal.  When working with these herbs and essential oils, look for the Latin name.

Please don’t panic when you read some of these herbs.  The caution is intended for large quantities.  The amounts used in cooking is small in comparison.  But again, consult your physician with any questions or concerns.

*These herbs are also classified as abortifacients: They may cause a pregnancy to end prematurely or causes a non-surgical abortion.  During the first five weeks of pregnancy they act to block the action of progesterone so that the uterus sloughs off the embryo.

Abortifacients are strong, powerful herbs and should only be used for short periods of time. They are hard on certain body organs such as the liver and kidneys if used for prolonged periods of time.

Essential oils should never been taken internally.  You know the drill!  Consult your physician for advise.

Please feel free to copy this information.  Although it took quite some time to accumulate it, I wish to educate people, especially women, on the uses of essential oils and herbs.